Serena to play Giorgi first up at Melbourne Park

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Top seed and defending champion Serena Williams will face a tricky first-round opponent in world number 35 Camila Giorgi when she begins her quest for a seventh Australian Open crown and could later meet Maria Sharapova in the quarter-finals.

The draw for the season's first grand slam, conducted at Melbourne Park on Friday, gave fifth seed Sharapova, runner-up to Williams last year and champion in 2008, a first-round tie against 58th-ranked Japanese Nao Hibino.

Second seed Simona Halep, who is battling a nagging Achilles problem, faces a qualifier first up while Garbine Muguruza, among the most exciting prospects in women's tennis, is seeded third and will meet 86th-ranked Estonian Annett Kontaveit.